~ Poets Pub

Pubtalk – Writers’ Tools

I am a Facebook user, for the social aspect certainly but also for the various news media I ‘follow’ and which allow me to see a variety of headlines every day and then decide what I want to read.

This week my eyes were attracted by a New York Time article entitled Moleskine Notebooks Adapt to the Digital World. I love notebooks, sketchbooks, copybooks… and therefore I quickly clicked on the link and read the article as well as the discussion in the Facebook box below. There people gave their opinions on notebooks – mainly the paper version – and shared their favorite brands. Quite a few mentioned the Leuchtturm1917 notebook, which led me to more clicking and reading until I ended up buying a notebook!

This led me to ponder on the importance of tools for artists and writers. Most artists have their favorite brands of paints, sketchbooks and pens. This is true of writers and poets. After all the Moleskine was made famous because Bruce Chatwin and Hemingway wrote in one.

In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg makes several suggestions about the ‘ideal’ pen. “It should be a fast writing pen because your thoughts are always much faster than your hand. You don’t want to to slow up your hand even more with a slow pen”.

On the subject of notebooks, she advises an inexpensive and portable one. Goldberg believes that if you buy something too fancy you might be led to think you need to write something good and therefore might never write at all. On the contrary if you go for a small and cheap one, you can carry it with you and write more spontaneously.

Nowadays a lot of us also write on electronic devices. As much as I love notebooks, I often write on my iPhone or computer, except when I am working in which case I favor the discreet and inconspicuous notebook.

Today poets, I’d like you to reflect on favorite tools. Do tools matter to you when it comes to writing? Do you have favorite brands? Are there still tools you’d love to try?

I haven’t used pencils to write anything for like 50 years; just cross outs not erasers; give me a rolling writer gel pen, & I’m jake. like you, I dislike & pay no attention to lines on paper; the blank page is beautiful.

Hi Gabriella, I must say I have tried to write with notebooks a lot.. but I think I have only finished a few poems using my hands… I love to use my computer. My favorite tools are those google docs, that means I have access to my drafts wherever I’m connected… I can do changes and write back and forth.. I have all my online references, and it goes quickly to type it in… that does not mean I would like to use notebooks .. I have piles of empty notebooks.. but if I would favor anyone it had to be one without lines.. no lines at all.. I simply do not like lines on my paper. When I was a student many years ago, I used to write everything on white paper…

The Leuchturm1917 notebooks do look fabulous – I’ve not yet succumbed but will be visiting Hamburg shortly, so may do so then…
I’m more modest. I think I agree that if the notebook is too beautiful, you are tempted to wait until you can write the best and most beautiful things in it. So instead I bulk buy Rhodia spiral-bound or classic notebooks (they have such a wonderfully smooth page surface). I too like gel pens – less messy than fountain pens and nearly as smooth to write with. (Can you detect a theme there – it’s got to be smooth and flow, even when my words are not…)

I like notebooks for sketching, even nice ones. For extensive note taking I like good quality paper. MarinaSofia, I don’t know if you know the French Clairefontaine school copybooks, they are great for writing.

Galaxy s5 is my absolute favorite… I have my Memo pad app for writing and S Note for cool new words + dictionary – everything is right there. Completed poems then go to the laptop… I have 3 notebooks, but they are a last resort for me to be honest.

Ha.. we are similar.. expect I prefer a keyboard, but I write it all on google docs so I don’t have to move it later… 🙂 sometimes in the mornings I write it one my ipad.. sometimes on my phone.. and mostly on my PC..

Hi, nice topic for today. I do a lot of typing with my iMac, but refuse to buckle under to texting; it feels absurd to laboriously hammer out, while being charged for it, a message that could be conveyed more effectively several other ways.

I still am a stickler for writing all notes, reviews, & poetry in longhand, so that the first couple of blue pencil edits can be done before I type them. I use the empty backside of things I printed out in the past, conserving paper & feeling good about it. I like to use a bold tipped (1mm) black rolling writer pen; easier to see & read.

In the past wrote a lot in Journals, but now I just let my hard drive, or back up hard drive keep track of my documents & thoughts.

I too like to use longhand first, even if it’s just to jot down some ideas or phrases, which I then rework on the laptop. And I hate writing on small devices – my fingers are clearly too thick and clumsy to cope, even with predictive texting. It’s laptop for the second round for me!

Don’t get me started on notebooks! Love Moleskin but my current favourite is a Moleskin look-alike produced by Insights. It’s a Game of Thrones one (I opted for the Stark version with ‘Winter is Coming’ embossed on the back!
I like using Pentel roller balls – being a ‘leftie’ they don’t smudge as you write over the line!
I also have a 1935 Underwood typewriter which I simply love using for working out poetry I’ve already framed in my notebook before translating it via a keyboard into my computer. Quite a journey but great for reflection.

My computer is now my favorite tool for writing – I have doc after doc of drafts – those used to fill up cheap yellow tablets – and when I need paper and pen, they are still my go to tools. I own lots of beautiful journals and notebooks, but have never written a line in them! Maybe they are too pretty and nice to scribble up!
Oh and I LOVE gel pens – always have an assortment in the bottom of my purse for writing on scraps of paper, backs of envelopes or napkins at the lunch counter- whatever is handy. Maybe those scraps are my favorites 🙂

I’m a notebook addict, too, for my personal journaling–but for writing poetry first drafts I love Piccadilly 8.5 X 11 Sketchbooks. They are bound at the top and, of course, have blank pages that I allow my writing to sprawl all over. I find them at Barnes and Noble. And I prefer using mechanical pencils. I’m also left handed and just hate the smear factor of ink. The format of the sketchbook gives me plenty of room to edit. When it comes to writing prose, however, I like to do it right on my laptop…my thoughts tumble out and my fingers can keep up better.

I always print out for editing …. it means I can also take it off and read it out loud in a quiet corner and make adjustments … nothing like that for finding the points where the poem trips over itself 🙂

Hello, nice to join in during the daylight hours…at home sick with a cold.
My favourite tools for writing are my PC and laptop. Writing on a phone just feels too tedious and tiny for me. I like the big screen. The idea of a paper journal sounds wonderful ….I have a few old journals tucked away from earlier days. My handwriting had definitely suffered from lack of use.
I like the gel pen idea…perhaps that would help.

My paper notebooks are for jottings, rather than formal writing. I make a note of phrases, words, quotes, book titles, anything which grabs my interest. Then when stuck for inspiration I’ll flick through old notebooks. But 99% of the time my poems etc are written on the laptop or sometimes on the PC. But as I mostly write in bed in the mornigs, the PC is a rare tool.

Well, I like to have a collection of notebooks, but oftentimes they are just that — a collection. LOL. I tend to use my computer for most things. In the ‘old days’ I did write poetry by hand. I am a fan of different colored pens. I am not one who likes to write with pencils much, but I do think if one writes with pencils at least you can erase. My handwriting really isn’t that neat, so a computer is more practical for me as well.

Mechanical pencil. Always. 0.5mm 2B. The smoothest ever on any piece of paper, note, envelope, notebook, fancy or plain. But lately I’ve taken to writing on printer paper (when at home. Away and any writable bit of paper will do, I even entered a shop once to borrow a pen. Must have looked wried to the vendor).

I love a mix of old school and new school writing tools. Pens with black ink that have a medium point are my favorites. I also keep a load of reporters notebooks as I was trained as a journalist and have gotten used to using them. Well, in fact, I love notebooks period. I collect them.

For my new school side, I have a Kindle and two other devices, an android phone and a iPod Touch that I use to take photos and record my thoughts on when I get inspired when I’m out and about. I use Evernote as I can write notes and record audio. Great post!

quite often, I just type directly into WordPress when I am composing, and do all my edits there too…but when I really want to ponder what I’m writing about…when it’s something that really MEANS something, I like a good coil-bound notebook (8 1/2 x 11 inch preferably), and a black gel pen. There is something about using ink and paper that helps me to process my thoughts.

It’s physically very hard for me to write with a pen or pencil because I have had carpal tunnel syndrome for several decades. (Even typing is hard if I type too fast or for too long.) But back to pens, if I’m forced to do any hand-writing there’s just one pen I can use for brief periods: Sanford’s Uniball ONYX Micro. It doesn’t require much pressure, yet has enough friction that I can control it. I highly recommend it to anyone with wrist or hand problems. Reasonably priced and available in boxes of (I think) a dozen at Staples.

That does sound like hard work, Madeleine. A friend of mine reverted to using pencil for precisely that reason (apparently, uses less pressure than pens), but it sounds like that might not work for you.

I love using my laptop and docs for writing ~ But sometimes I get distracted when I am on the internet, so I get a paper and jot down my thoughts. I put all the single sheets on a folder, unbound as I like to pick & choose & rearrange them at will. I tried writing on my iphone and moleskin but its too slow for me ~ I like that I can easily write on an empty page of the computer, under drafts, then come back to them later on ~

I have an app on my ipad called Writer. That’s where I write most of my poetry. I hardly ever write on paper any more. I used to write on inexpensive school notebooks when I would journal daily. I have a drawing app on my ipad too. But I prefer just a simple drawing pad and a number 2 pencil for that. I think I don’t consider myself good enough yet to merit better pencils or paper.

Ha! My sketches on those drawing apps all look like cat scratchings. I like your writing! We all deserve the best for our words, simply because we dare to write. Good, bad, indifferent – we write. We take those words from our hearts and put them down in some kind of medium. And if we obtain something beautiful or superior, then all the better to give a fitting home to those words.

I always use my computer for writing – backup done regularly and a thumb drive for extra safety. My formal writing – personal correspondence is done with a Meisterstuck Mont Blanc fountain pen inherited from my grandfather. It is a sweet instrument with their lavender purple inck. Informal writing: lists, things to remember, jotting is done with PenTel EnerGel. Since I have unlimited talk and text, If I am out and about and jotting a note about something I’ve seen or heard, I text myself. I have carpal tunnel as well and this pen helps with that, although I try to avoid handwriting. My keyboard is an ergonomic one to help with that as well. Writing with a pencil reminds me too much of work – doing layouts or drain sketches on grid paper! But if I do have to use a pencil, I use the mechanical ones with skinny lead.

I can imagine. When I had to order a new nib for mine, I kept the old. Back in those days, they were things of beauty – gold and silver and hand engraved – a writing instrument that made anyone a royal.

Overall.. for me the Internet and the iPhone device.. is a portable tool for that.. ..including photography.. in all the expressions of freest creativity.. from every corner of the world.. yes.. is my pallet to nourish creativity.. as i absorb that creativity in mind.. heart.. soul.. and wait for the spirit to flow.. later in the words that do come.. as i let them go.. freely without thought… no less free than when i play the piano.. in full keyboard two handed way of creativity…:)

Haha.. but i rarely take notes.. as i almost have to escape words.. and put them to rest.. whenever i leave this iMac larger keyboard.. that when used too much.. can also be a trap.. from enjoying fuller life.. as is now..in mindful awareness..:)

llInitially I wondered if there would be much discussion about writing tools, but Boy Howdy, the responses are closing in on 80 already. Kudos to Gabriella for rattling our writing cages. Hemingway & Faulkner & Steinbeck always wrote first drafts in longhand. I love to see my thoughts manifest themselves in cursive form; even though I toss the paper out, or shred it these days. I hung onto college notes, school essays, drafts of poetry for decades; had a ton of it, literally, when I finally recycled it. I, too, have writer’s journals with fancy blank paper, gifts, sitting in stacks empty; damn, that is quite the image, & so many of us have them; fodder for a poem perhaps?

I too have notebooks from high school, university and after, but on disc. I don’t have any empty notebooks because I never bought the “fancy” ones. I ended up scanning them onto disc and then recycling. But the thoughts of those unpenned poems, those notebooks waiting for words is an interesting thought.

I am one who keeps all past poetry journals from high school days. I now type poetry, stories and even novels directly onto the computer. However I have a notebook with separators and elastic band to hold everything together where I jot down first thoughts. Normally a notebook of 120 unlined pages last me a year.

I have sketchbooks and journals, which I note my five girls love to g through, tp read about falling in love, their birth and their cute, and moving moments. I use a pilot gel pen for each, and hardly touch my fountain pens.

That’s what keeps me with pen and paper, I have to admit: the beauty of stumbling upon old documents. It may be difficult to find room for them, and some do get thrown out (accidentally or on purpose, as I tend to move a lot, especially between countries), but I’ve really only ever lost important things that were written on computers, not the paper ones.

I always enjoyed the first blank sheet of a new journal… always believing that creativity would not come to the keyboard. To prove myself right, I tried composing on the computer and was delightfully surprised to find I was so wrong. I can type so much faster than I could ever write and when one has A.D.D. it can relieve some of the frustration. While I still jot a few notes in a tiny notebook, now it all happens on my laptop. Each of us must find what works best for who we are and how we work.

I collect journals and notebooks, but for years was afraid to write anything. I could relate to the comment of not writing because it had to be something good. I like a spiral notebook best with wide lines (not college ruled) so that there’s room to edit. I keep a small Winnie-the-Pooh spiral notebook and pen (slide down in the spiral) next to my bed in case I have a thought for a poem or blog post while I’m trying to fall asleep. And I love to write in green pen. But these days it does seem I write more on the computer. Some of my favorite tools for poetry writing are http://www.rhymezone.com and http://www.wordhippo.com. Peace, Linda